If they were acting like that?
There was no way these were all the injured.
Flash.
The three of them looked in every direction at once.
And they immediately shouted out what they saw.
“None over here.”
“None here either.”
“Where did all these patients hide?”
Kim Hyeokgwon’s bewildered voice joined in.
This was not a situation where they could relax just because no patients were immediately visible.
Most of all, their vision was limited by the smoke pouring from the burning bus.
In moments like this, Kim Hyeokgwon was a little quicker to make a decision.
“You doctors give those patients first aid.”
“What about you, Hyeokgwon?”
“Even a fake doctor has an eye for patients. Then.”
Swish.
The moment he said it, Kim Hyeokgwon turned, his gown flapping.
He ran roughly toward the burning bus.
It was not long after.
Kim Hyeokgwon’s irritated voice came through the in-ear.
Beep.
— Damn it. It’s filthy hot.
When they looked, they saw him circling the bus and running toward the front.
His annoyed face felt so vivid they could picture it with their eyes closed.
It almost made the fact that they were separated by just a radio seem meaningless.
That was good.
Now, if he wasn’t by their side, something felt missing.
Meanwhile, Taesu and Jeong Minsu also approached the patients.
Two patients, and two doctors.
Glance.
Taesu looked first and asked.
“Left, right?”
“Left.”
“Okay, change.”
The moment they decided which patient to take care of—
Swish.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu crossed past each other in an instant.
They had decided based on the patients’ injured areas.
Then the two of them arrived at their respective patients at the same time.
Even the way they dragged down the duffel bags slung over their shoulders was identical.
Thud.
“We’re with the NGO. Can you hear me?”
“Do you speak English? Hey. Look at me.”
Taesu and Jeong Minsu informed the patients who they were at the same time.
The patient Taesu was in charge of was a man bleeding from his forehead.
He had his back against the wall, one hand pressed to his forehead, his head turned away.
“Ugh, uhhh.”
His reaction was a beat late.
Tap, tap.
Taesu stimulated him and called loudly.
“Excuse me. Hey, you.”
“Huuuh, uhhh.”
The man did respond.
But his focus was off, not directed at Taesu.
In cases like this, people commonly said the person was out of it.
There was a proper medical term as well.
Mental confusion.
Taesu did not rush.
He calmed himself for a beat and called the patient again.
“Hey. Can you hear me? Do you understand?”
“Th-theeyyrrr…….”
“It’s all right. Slowly. Don’t rush, just speak calmly.”
“Ughnnnzz…….”
Because the patient’s mouth was not opening properly, his pronunciation was unclear.
At times like this, there was no helping it.
Taesu immediately asked Jeong Minsu.
“Dr. Jeong, it’s mental confusion. You packed a tranquilizer, right?”
“Yeah, I have a mild one.”
Thump.
At the same time, he pushed the duffel bag toward Taesu.
Taesu rummaged through it and pulled out a pouch.
It was standard to store medication ampoules in padded pockets like this.
Clink.
The medicine Taesu found was one of the milder types among tranquilizers.
It was called a minor tranquilizer.
Just as the name suggested, it only had a mildly stimulating effect.
“Here it is.”
As soon as he found it, he loaded it into a syringe.
He put the cap on, held it in his mouth, grabbed the patient’s arm, and roughly rolled the sleeve up to the forearm.
Slide.
“…….”
The patient still showed almost no reaction.
After confirming that there was no change even with further stimulation, he administered the injection.
Push.
It seemed the patient could not even feel the needle going in.
Taesu did not prepare only one injection.
After estimating the size of the wound and the amount of bleeding, he added one more, an antibiotic.
Now it was time to watch the patient’s response.
Fortunately, the reaction came quickly.
The man’s hazy eyes slowly began to tremble.
Then, while looking at Taesu, he began to speak one word at a time with quivering lips.
“Suddenly…… the bus…… exploded…….”
It was an abrupt thing to say.
Thinking there might be something to it, Taesu asked quietly.
“Do you know what my job is?”
“Doc, doctor.”
“Yes. I’m Doctor Choi Taesu. What is your name?”
When Taesu asked calmly, the patient furrowed his brow a couple of times before answering.
“Ty, Tyler…… from England…….”
“Mr. Tyler from England.”
“Yes.”
Tyler’s voice was gradually becoming clearer.
His memory was improving as well.
It would have been nice if they had more time, but unfortunately, they did not.
They had to deal with the injured area quickly.
“I need to treat the wound, so please let me see it.”
“……Yes. Huh? Uh, uh.”
The blood had clotted, and his hand would not come away.
It was nothing serious, but Tyler reacted far too strongly.
Taesu called out.
“Mr. Tyler.”
“Hah…… Yes.”
“It’s nothing. Just stay still.”
Taesu soothed Tyler as he pulled out a military canteen with one hand.
Drip, drip.
He poured water slowly while continuing to calm the panicking Tyler.
Meanwhile, beside him, Jeong Minsu was also soothing his patient.
“It’s all right now. It’s all right, so…….”
“What do you know? Have you ever had a bomb explode right in front of your eyes?”
The patient’s response was fierce and sharp.
Jeong Minsu’s voice neither shrank back nor rose.
“Now, now, Fabian, please calm down. First, the wound on your leg……”
Calling the patient by name, he tried to begin treatment calmly.
Even that was not forceful.
He was following the patient’s opinions while guiding him in the direction he wanted.
It was because his proactive nature had been joined by the delicacy he originally possessed.
That was thanks to the effort Jeong Minsu had put in over the past month.
But this was not all.
There were still many more sides of him left to show.
Meanwhile.
After pouring enough water, Taesu carefully separated Tyler’s hand from his forehead.
Sticky rip.
The tacky sensation of blood that had clotted and hardened remained.
Still, they were clearly separated.
The area above his left eyebrow was torn open.
It looked as if something had grazed past him.
Within the wound, a hint of white skull could be seen. It was far too deep to call it merely a torn forehead.
He did not stop after checking only the visible injury.
He quickly carried out a basic examination to see if there were other wounds.
One hand swept over the arms and legs, while the other used a stethoscope to listen to the sounds of the internal organs.
Brush, tap.
The information transmitted through Taesu’s hands and ears came together in his mind.
‘His pulse is a little fast, but that’s probably from shock. No particular signs of internal bleeding, no fractures either……’
Nothing was certain.
That was because he was skimming quickly, focusing on emergency symptoms.
Their role was the advance team.
They had to buy time until the main team arrived.
This was an examination weighted toward that role.
Slide.
Taesu took off the stethoscope and said,
“Other than your forehead, you don’t seem to have any special injuries.”
“Huh? Ah, really?”
“For now, I’m going to stitch your forehead. If anywhere else hurts, please tell me.”
When Taesu explained the treatment method, Tyler was startled.
“St, stitch?”
“It’ll be quick. Just a moment.”
After asking for his understanding, Taesu moved away from Tyler.
Taesu sat in front of the duffel bag Jeong Minsu had brought and immediately reached inside.
It was packed with medical supplies, but they were all mixed up without order.
Clatter.
“No system?”
“When was I supposed to sort them?”
Jeong Minsu approached with a sullen voice.
Taesu asked briefly.
“Your patient?”
“Femur fracture. I used lidocaine for local anesthesia for now, and I’m going to wrap it with a compression bandage.”
“Where is it?”
“In there.”
Jeong Minsu did not know either, so he answered vaguely.
Taesu gave a bitter smile and pushed his hand deeper inside.
But then—
Kim Hyeokgwon’s voice came through the in-ear.
Beep.
— Dr. Choi, Dr. Jeong.
It was an urgent call.
When Taesu, whose hands were not free, gave him a look, Jeong Minsu immediately pressed the radio and answered.
“Yes. Did you find another patient?”
— I’m heading that way now, so spread something out, anything.
“What’s the condition?”
— There’s a brick lodged in his side.
The moment he shouted that—
Freeze.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu stiffened for an instant.
A brick lodged in his side?
It was not an easy situation to imagine.
Just in case, Taesu pressed the radio again and asked,
“Hyeokgwon, what did you say was in his side?”
— I said there’s a brick lodged in it.
“Why is that there?”
Jeong Minsu asked with a drained expression.
But Taesu felt the exact same way.
How could a brick become embedded in a person’s body?
It was not easy to imagine.
But Kim Hyeokgwon was absolutely not the type to make something up.
— Save your curiosity until you see it with your own eyes, and prepare the space first.
“How long until you arrive?”
— Under thirty seconds.
“What? We only have a few surgical drapes. We need to find a blanket or something from somewhere……”
Jeong Minsu floundered.
Since he was actively looking around, it only made him seem more frantic.
Taesu quickly calmed him first.
“Minsu, say okay first.”
“You have a way?”
“I do.”
When Taesu answered firmly, Jeong Minsu quickly spoke into the radio.
“Dr. Choi says he’ll have it prepared perfectly.”
— Hurry. If you drag your feet, the patient looks like he’ll be finished.
Kim Hyeokgwon urged them several times.
It seemed to be truly serious.
If so, the order of emergency treatment had changed.
Tyler and Fabian had already received basic emergency care.
In that state, they could endure without issue until the main team arrived.
So the patient with a brick lodged in his body came first.
Taesu reached into the duffel bag he had brought.
Pull.
What he took out was a pouch about the size of a forearm.
Seeing it, Jeong Minsu’s eyes gleamed.
“Is that, by any chance…… an A tent?”
“That’s right.”
“W-wow. Good.”
“I’ll find the position first.”
Tat-tat.
As he spoke, Taesu sprang forward.
Even just laying the tent on the ground required enough space.
Tat-tat-tat.
He took several large steps and put distance between them.
There was nothing around.
The sight of the flat dirt ground satisfied him.
‘Good enough.’
After checking once more, Taesu spread out the tent.
Once it was literally laid out on the ground, it was large enough for three grown men to lie on.
This much space should be enough.
“Good. Minsu.”
“Yeah. Here.”
Almost at the same time, Jeong Minsu arrived carrying all the duffel bags.
Then Jeong Minsu opened wide the duffel pack he had brought.
Inside were quite a number of medical supplies vulnerable to impact.
Taesu and Jeong Minsu took turns pulling them out and spreading them.
Saline, gauze, disinfectant, alcohol, and so on.
They were medical supplies that were extremely faithful to the basics.
And there was also an emergency surgery kit, sutures, and surgical gloves.
With this much?
“We should be able to do emergency treatment.”
“I told you I packed it with that in mind.”
“Yeah. Good job.”
The words exchanged between them were full of absentmindedness.
They spread out even a little more of the medical supplies and hurried to prepare to receive the emergency patient.